Friday, August 12, 2016

Night Light for Couples - A Spiritual Leader

“For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord.” Genesis 18:19

Perhaps the most important aspect of a husband’s headship in the home is his role as spiritual leader. When all is said and done, can there be anything more important to a husband than promoting the spiritual health of his wife and children while on earth and being reunited with them in heaven?

One of the things that has impressed me most about Jim during all these years is his dedication to our family’s spiritual life and the example he has set for me, Danae, and Ryan. Our first date was a Sunday evening church service, and he has never wavered from his commitment to church, especially in terms of tithing and attendance. So many times when our children were still at home, Jim would return from a trip late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, then get up and go to Sunday school. I know he was dead on his feet from fatigue, but he didn’t want his kids to see him lying in bed on the Sabbath. Early in our marriage, Jim also established routines for family devotionals, prayer time, and Bible study (admittedly at times more consistently than others). That was such a blessing for our children as they grew up in the Lord and was, and is, so encouraging to me.

Husbands, I urge you to take stock of your family’s spiritual life. Are you setting the proper example? Are you establishing times for you, your wife, and your kids to mature in God’s Word? You may stumble occasionally as you nurture your family’s faith, just as we have, but I encourage you to be a husband who stays the course. That’s the kind of leader your wife wants and needs—and the kind the Lord desires as well.

- Shirley M Dobson

  • From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
  • Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Daily Readings for August 12, 2016

Judges 14:20-15:20
And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man. After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, "I want to go into my wife's room." But her father would not allow him to go in. Her father said, "I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?" Samson said to them, "This time, when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will be without blame." So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. Then the Philistines asked, "Who has done this?" And they said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson's wife and given her to his companion." So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father. Samson said to them, "If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you." He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and made a raid on Lehi. The men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us." Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then have you done to us?" He replied, "As they did to me, so I have done to them." They said to him, "We have come down to bind you, so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines." Samson answered them, "Swear to me that you yourselves will not attack me." They said to him, "No, we will only bind you and give you into their hands; we will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the spirit of the LORD rushed on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men. And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men." When he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and that place was called Ramath-lehi. By then he was very thirsty, and he called on the LORD, saying, "You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" So God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came from it. When he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore it was named En-hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Acts 7:17-29
"But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father's house; and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds. "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites. When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?' But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

John 4:43-54
When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet's own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival. Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Morning Psalms

Psalm 102 Domine, exaudi
1   LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2   Incline your ear to me; when I call, make haste to answer me,
3   For my days drift away like smoke, and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4   My heart is smitten like grass and withered, so that I forget to eat my bread.
5   Because of the voice of my groaning I am but skin and bones.
6   I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, like an owl among the ruins.
7   I lie awake and groan; I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8   My enemies revile me all day long, and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9   For I have eaten ashes for bread and mingled my drink with weeping.
10   Because of your indignation and wrath you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11   My days pass away like a shadow, and I wither like the grass.
12   But you, O LORD, endure for ever, and your Name from age to age.
13   You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to have mercy upon her; indeed, the appointed time has come.
14   For your servants love her very rubble, and are moved to pity even for her dust.
15   The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16   For the LORD will build up Zion, and his glory will appear.
17   He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; he will not despise their plea.
18   Let this be written for a future generation, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19   For the LORD looked down from his holy place on high; from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20   That he might hear the groan of the captive and set free those condemned to die;
21   That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD, and his praise in Jerusalem;
22   When the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
23   He has brought down my strength before my time; he has shortened the number of my days;
24   And I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; your years endure throughout all generations.
25   In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26   They shall perish, but you will endure; they all shall wear out like a garment; as clothing you will change them, and they shall be changed;
27   But you are always the same, and your years will never end.
28   The children of your servants shall continue, and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight."


Evening Psalms

Psalm 107: Part I Confitemini Domino
1   Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and his mercy endures for ever.
2   Let all those whom the LORD has redeemed proclaim that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3   He gathered them out of the lands; from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4   Some wandered in desert wastes; they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
5   They were hungry and thirsty; their spirits languished within them.
6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7   He put their feet on a straight path to go to a city where they might dwell.
8   Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy and the wonders he does for his children.
9   For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10   Some sat in darkness and deep gloom, bound fast in misery and iron;
11   Because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12   So he humbled their spirits with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was none to help.
13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
14   He led them out of darkness and deep gloom and broke their bonds asunder.
15   Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy and the wonders he does for his children.
16   For he shatters the doors of bronze and breaks in two the iron bars.
17   Some were fools and took to rebellious ways; they were afflicted because of their sins.
18   They abhorred all manner of food and drew near to death's door.
19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
20   He sent forth his word and healed them and saved them from the grave.
21   Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy and the wonders he does for his children.
22   Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
23   Some went down to the sea in ships and plied their trade in deep waters;
24   They beheld the works of the LORD and his wonders in the deep.
25   Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose, which tossed high the waves of the sea.
26   They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths; their hearts melted because of their peril.
27   They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits' end.
28   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
29   He stilled the storm to a whisper and quieted the waves of the sea.
30   Then were they glad because of the calm, and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for.
31   Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy and the wonders he does for his children.
32   Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for August 12, 2016

From Forward Day By Day

John 4:44 (NRSV) For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country.

For years, I had a training and development company. One of our courses taught internal consultants how to work with clients more effectively. The inside experts were sometimes dismissed in favor of outside consultants who were usually paid more and deemed to have more expertise, though this was often not the case.

This syndrome is alive and well in our own families. We might think of teenagers who pay more attention to friends’ advice about dating or web articles about how to win acceptance to college than to their parents who are giving them the exact same advice. Sometimes a spouse might ignore advice from a significant other and take heed of the same words said by another. Maybe we need to listen more to the voices around our dinner table, and down our halls, and in our hearts. I believe Jesus would approve.


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Girlfriends in God - Big Goals, Big Life


We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our “Friday Friends.” So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our “Friday Friend,” Arlene Pellicane.

Today’s Truth

I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then (Joshua 14:11, NIV).

Friend to Friend

Every year, I attend a personal growth conference with some truly inspirational people. Speakers have included greats such as Neil Armstrong, Zig Ziglar, Lou Holtz, Andy Andrews, and Jim Rohn. I know being exposed to this caliber of professionals has pushed me to become a better person, wife, and mom.

Some may wonder about the lasting effects of motivational conferences. You may wonder how many times does one really need to hear “Think positive,” “Never give up” and “Set ambitious goals”?

One of my friends says it’s because we leak. We constantly need to be re-filled, re-inspired, redirected, and reenergized. We need role models to look up to. We need godly mentors to keep us accountable to higher goals and more meaningful living.

Caleb in the Bible was that kind of person. While the ten other spies looked at the Promised Land, all they could see were the giants. They cowered in fear and their unbelief spread like a virus to the Israelites. Caleb saw giants too – giant grapes to be taken!

In the book of Joshua, we read that Caleb at age 85 stood before Joshua, not ready for retirement, but ready for action. He still had big goals. “Now give me this hill country that the Lord has promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:12, NIV).

The Bible goes on to tell us that Caleb received the land of Hebron as his inheritance because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly. He didn’t allow his big goal of taking the land to die in the 40-year detour through the wilderness. He had big goals and he lived a big life.

I heard a great sermon that challenged the idea of David being the first great giant killer in the Bible. Before David, there was Caleb. You see Caleb had to drive out the giants (Anakites) that were in Hebron before he took his inheritance.

Perhaps David gained strength to fight Goliath because he knew Caleb’s story of victory.

Maybe David the young lad knew of the odds against Caleb the old man and it gave him courage.

Have you ever thought that as you pursue your God-given goals and dreams, it will give courage to the next generation to pursue theirs? No matter your age, there are giants in the land to be taken. There are promises to be fulfilled. There are still mountains to be climbed.

Never give into the naysayers. Keep writing goals for every season in your life. You serve a big God who accomplishes big goals to His glory.

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, I commit my life to You. Like Caleb, I want to have big goals. I want to defeat giants for Your Name’s sake. Birth in me ideas and dreams that come from Your heart. Help me to accomplish Your will in my life. Thank You for being with me every step of the way. Revive my heart and hope I pray.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Do you have someone in your life that encourages you to write bigger goals? To live a bigger life?

Are you that kind of person to someone else?

More from the Girlfriends

Today’s devotion is from speaker and author Arlene Pellicane. She’s thankful for her mentor Pam Farrel who is the author of several books including Becoming a Brave New Woman. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to develop the courage to walk into his or her hopes and dreams. Also, if you want to learn how to be more purposeful and goal oriented in your marriage, you can read Arlene’s book 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Wife. Visit www.ArlenePellicane.com for more resources including a monthly Happy Home Podcast.

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Men of the Bible - Isaiah

His name means: "The Lord Has Saved"

His work: An eighth-century BC prophet, Isaiah's message was primarily directed toward Judah and Jerusalem, warning God's people of coming judgment on their sins.
His character: He was a learned man of principle and integrity and of deep humility.
His sorrow: Isaiah was grieved that God's people were unwilling to repent.
His triumph: Isaiah had a vision of God that profoundly shaped his long prophetic ministry.
Key Scriptures: Isaiah 6

A Look at the Man

The people noticed the difference in Isaiah. Rumor had spread that he had seen a vision in the temple that day. No one knew exactly what—or whom—he had seen, but whatever had happened, Isaiah was a changed man.

What Isaiah had experienced in the temple was one of history's most profound commissioning ceremonies, and because of its power, Isaiah's course was changed like a flood tearing down a riverbank.

Isaiah had grown up on the right side of the tracks. His family was from the royal tribe of Judah. His pedigree and command of the language marked his stature and his message. After the vision in the temple, for almost sixty years his assignment included ministry in the courts of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. So naturally Isaiah might have been tempted to place himself above the people to whom he preached. But because of the temple visitation, the preacher never forgot that he too was counted among the sinners. Just because he had been gifted and called to deliver God's message didn't excuse him from the need for repentance.

Isaiah had witnessed something very few mortals have seen before his time or since. He was allowed the privilege of seeing a glimpse of God's glory. The experience tore away any shroud of pride that may have covered him, replacing it with a sense of wonder and humility. It was as though the living God was saying to the prophet, "Don't forget who you're talking about, Isaiah. Never forget whom you serve."

And there was the searing heat of the burning ember. Why couldn't God have just told me of my forgiveness? Why the coal? Why this pain? Isaiah must have wondered over the succeeding weeks as the scabs on his lips slowly healed. But God had a purpose in this, too. He wanted Isaiah to remember the pain of repentance, the agony of confession. And he touched the part of Isaiah's body that he was using to represent the Holy One of Israel: his mouth. No doubt it was several weeks, perhaps months, before Isaiah could speak without physical pain. God's mission had been perfectly accomplished.

And now Isaiah's message of the people's sinfulness included the promise of redemption in the coming of the Savior: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

The sparkle in Isaiah's eyes didn't come from a strident preacher who delighted in shouting condemnation, but in the words of deliverance through the Son of God who would come to save the people from their sins—including the sins of the woeful prophet.

Reflect On: Isaiah 25:1–5
Praise God: For his sovereignty and power, for his mercy and his grace.
Offer Thanks: For calling us to repentance and for providing a Savior.
Confess: Our casual attitude about being in his holy presence in worship and our cavalier attitude about our own sin.
Ask God: To give you a glimpse of his glory—an understanding of what Isaiah must have experienced that day in the temple. Tell him that you’re willing to be sent, to be his ambassador, his mouthpiece.

Today's reading is a brief excerpt from Men of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Men in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Robert Wolgemuth (Zondervan). © 2010 by Ann Spangler. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Enjoy the complete book by purchasing your own copy at the Bible Gateway Store. The book's title must be included when sharing the above content on social media.

His Princess Every Day - I Have Always Been Here

Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.

My beloved,

I have always known you, always loved you and always been with you. When you were formed I was with you in your mother’s womb. When you took your first breath I was breathing through you. I know your past and I also know your future. I will walk you through every season of your life. I am with you now in spirit. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am all your new beginnings and your endings. You are part of me, my love. I am your eternal husband who will give you your “Happily Ever After.” I love you.

Love,
Your Prince forever and always

“I am the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come--the Almighty One.” -Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

Prayer to my Prince

My Lord,

My mind cannot grasp that you were present in all my yesterdays--but my heart soars knowing that you will be in all my tomorrows. I so look forward to sharing the rest of my life with you. I want to laugh with you and cry with you. It brings me immense comfort knowing that you hold my future in the palm of your hand.

Love,
Your Bride who is in love with you

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” - Revelation 22:12 (NLT)

This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Visit HisPrincess.com for devotionals, books, videos, and more from Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - THE STRENGTH OF PERSECUTION

Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:9-11

The conclusion of the message on the book of Esther from a house church pastor in China:

I wish the book of Esther ended before chapter nine, but it does not. The book ends with the Jews taking revenge on all their enemies everywhere. They arranged a kind of amnesty for terrorism. For a day, they were allowed to kill anyone who had oppressed them and not be prosecuted for it. Thousands probably died. It was a kind of rough justice, but what does rough justice solve? It just makes the relatives of those slain burn with hatred, and they train their children to seek more revenge, and the weary cycle of bloodletting is accelerated.

I would apply this to the suffering church this way. Surviving a persecution situation involves desperation, but that desperation can turn into harshness and heresy if one is not careful. The terrible superstitions that came into the church in venerating the bones of martyrs were a response to persecution. Persecution brings martyrs. To revere martyrs is one thing. But to worship their relics as if they are a special lever to move the hand of God with—that is terrible.

Why is the book of Esther in the Bible? Because it tells us that God helps His people. If this decree had gone through, then a holocaust would have taken place and the will of God for the world would have been lost. We would have had no Bible otherwise. God was not going to let that happen, and He stretched forth His mighty arm to prevent it. The good news of His gospel must be spread. So reading about how God intervened must have given great increase to a Jew’s faith, as it increases ours too. God intervenes to save and get His will done. And His will is that all come to know Him and love Him.

So persecution can strengthen our faith, as we see God delivering His people powerfully and getting His will done.

I stand before you now, a living witness to the strength of suffering. We come out stronger, not because of our faith, but because we see God deliver us in mighty ways. We have to; otherwise we would be dead and gone. Praise God for persecution, for building His church no matter what the opposition.

Let us have the courage of Esther, and say, “If I perish, I perish.” But let us remember that our courage is decisive only because God is mighty, and stretches out His arm to deliver us when we cry.

RESPONSE: Today I will focus on God’s deliverance and stand strong trusting Him for the future.

PRAYER: Pray today for the persecuted church. Pray they will find their strength only in the Lord.

Verse of the Day - August 12, 2016

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Read all of 1 Corinthians 6